Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The aim of the research is to identify changes in the mechanisms of forming images of historical past and the political socialization of youth under the influence of new media and digital leisure content. Special attention is given to studying the effects of unreflective consumption of entertainment content on the processes of assimilating political culture. The theoretical foundation of the research is based on a set of approaches from the media-centric paradigm: actor-n etwork theory, concepts of gamification in media spaces, and the social-cognitive concept of digital socialization. The empirical basis consists of data from a mass survey of 1,257 representatives of youth in the Siberian Federal District and an expert survey of 40 specialists in media, education, and youth policy. The study’s findings demonstrate that the medialization of historical memory and digital socialization are objective and irreversible processes. In this context, new media serve not just as agents of socialization but as an informational environment for interaction between public institutions and youth. The process of political socialization becomes diversified, concentrating within narrow communities. The content of new media is characterized by increasing algorithmization and adaptability to the demands of the youth audience. The results obtained indicate the need to rethink traditional approaches to the political socialization of youth in the context of societal digitalization and to develop new technologies for implementing memory policies through modern media platforms.
Institution: Altai State University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Russian Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W7202114635